by 
Title and Author: The Shaadi Brouhaha..: Arranged Marriage Hungama by Anjlee Shah
No. of Pages: 216
Publication Date: Srishti Publishers & Distributors (7 June 2015)
Genre: Romance, Indian Writing, Debut, Comedy
Language: English
Book Review:
The Shaadi Brouhaha..: Arranged Marriage Hungama by Anjlee Shah, as the name suggests, is a hilarious but very real account of the daily dilemmas of the singles in India caught in the arranged marriage drama with all its pressures from the family and relatives, the frustrations of having to meet all kinds of possible matches ranging from sweet to rude to even some weirdos and then the gossip drama…The list seems never ending for twenty five year old CA, Nitya.
Amidst all the arranged marriage drama and her mother’s antics, she is not prepared to feel the intense feelings that her boss, Rudra Desai, evokes in her. One time he is rude and cold and then the next, he goes into the sexy romantic mode.
What will become of Nitya?
Will she be able to brave the arranged marriage drama to get her happily-ever-after?
I absolutely loved this book! Despite being the debut novel by Anjlee, she is able to make the reader laugh, giggle, feel sympathetic towards Nitya and then end up guffawing again!
The whole Arranged Marriage scene is intricately and very vividly described and I was able to relate with all of it. The gossipy and snoopy relatives, the matchmaker aunties, the pundits (priests) who are able to find all kinds of doshas (faults) in one’s kundali etc. had me sitting glued to the book right till the end. Add the charismatic and drool worthy hero with his intense stares, stern expressions which just as easily shift to playfully mischievous romantic ones had me taking deep sighs and feeling the warmth of true romance with all its giggly, goofy and heart warming qualities.
I loved how she was able to transport me and engage me in the story where I felt like everything was happening right in front of my eyes. I happily followed Nitya in all her adventures and misadventures all through the story. Anjlee’s writing style is fluid, engrossing and she is able to elicit the right emotions from the readers. I laughed at all her jokes and satire on the whole marriage scene in India, felt all the frustrations of the heroine, felt angry with the nosy relatives and so on.
The story is fast paced and held my interest right till the end.
The characterization is expertly done. Anjlee’s gives us an insight into multiple types of personalities through her characters ranging from the worried and determined mother to the frustrated single daughter to the matchmaker relatives etc.
I loved Nitya. She is independent, strong and loves her mother so much so that despite her better judgement, she is ready to indulge her mother in her efforts of finding a perfect groom for her. Her interactions with a variety of prospective grooms had me holding my stomach as I laughed out loud all the while trying to balance my book on my lap so I didn’t have to stop reading! She works hard and is a simple girl who just wants to marry a man who loves and cherishes her. Her attraction towards Rudra was fun to read about and as her attraction gave way to love, so did my love for these characters.
Rudra is a strict as a boss but is impressed by Nitya’s dedication to work and attracted by her beauty. His actions sometimes look mysterious and had me turning each page swiftly to read more about him all the while giggling like a teenager with a crush!
Nitya’s mother is another interesting character. She is determined to get her daughter married to the best groom as soon as possible and is ready to cash in on all her connections. Her love for Nitya is evident and I loved her for this.
While I thoroughly enjoyed the book, I found a few grammatical errors in the book like mismatched usage of tenses and missing words which could have been removed with another round of editing. However, these errors didn’t hamper my entertainment quota from the book.
All in all, The Shaadi Brouhaha..: Arranged Marriage Hungama is a funny, witty and totally entertaining romance which is sure to entertain and make you laugh. 4.5 out of 5 to it and recommended to everyone. Go read this book. It’s a must read. I loved Anjlee’s style and look forward to reading more from her in the future.
 |
| I received the book from the author. |
Buy From:
